Life After Death
by LoveGreenEyes001
Summary: To the world Albus Dumbledore was a man of great achievements. To himself, he is a man of many mistakes and regrets. Can he ever be forgiven?


**Hello! This was written for Round two: Our Song of Fanfiction Idol made by the lovely CierraLuv97. :) Thanks you so much!REVIEW! Please no flames, CC accepted. I apologize for any type of mistakes in this story such as OOC-ness, spelling/grammar, plot errors, etc. (I'm human...unfortunately :P)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the following of what your about to read.**

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_Come with me_

_Where chains will never bind you_

_And your grief_

_At last, at last behind you_

-"Finale" from Les Miserables

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The two of them arrived at the Hogwarts with a rush. Landing in the Astronomy Tower, Albus noticed something: darkness. Everything was dark. The room was dim. The lake was a ghastly black, and the sky was as dull as ever with no twinkling stars splattered across it. Not even the moon was out to give its homey glow upon Earth.

It wasn't all that bad though. This night was quite peaceful. The darkness was accompanied by a bright, golden silence. Literally nothing made a noise. The cool breeze didn't whistle or howl or scream. It was silent. It merely tickled Albus's beard. It's a miracle of how dark and silent this night could be. Some might think that it was a gloomy evening—maybe a scene taken out of a horror movie. However, in Dumbledore's eyes it was a glorious night.

The event at the isolated cave still shook him up a bit. Reliving that part of his life was horrible! Seeing poor, small, innocent Ariana crying aloud, ordering him and Grindewald to stop dueling until she finally went silent—signaling her death again made him want to kill himself. The potion—that horrible, bland potion—made him relive one of his biggest mistakes of his life. He could never forgive himself for that night. He could never forgive himself for abandoning his family like a stray cat. Maybe his family could, but not him.

Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the amplifying sound of footsteps. _Oh, dear. It's going to happen tonight, _Albus thought. Dumbledore whipped out his wand. The great wizard turned to Harry. He silently casted an immobilizing spell on Harry, and with that the boy became fixed like a statue. He knew that if he didn't paralyze the boy then Harry would ruin the plan. As he quickly put the almighty invisibility cloak over the boy, Dumbledore got a glimpse of his pleading eyes and confused expression that said: "What are you _doing_?" He knew that in the future Harry would be enraged, perplexed, and alone. He'd hope that the boy would forgive him or understand him someday, but right now this had to be done.

As if on cue, the door busted open, exposing a slim figure. Albus knew right away that it was him—Malfoy. The poor boy was ordered to kill him by Voldemort, and tonight was the night that it was going happen. The brilliant blonde head of Draco was like the sun in the darkness. He stood there awkwardly for half a second. Then his senses kicked in and he cried, _"Expelliarmus!"_ The wizard's wand soared out of his hand instantly.

Draco breathed heavily. He looked like an innocent puppy as he confessed what he has been doing all year. Dumbledore already knew all of that. How Draco used the Vanishing Cabinet, the Room of Requirement, and how there are Death Eaters in the castle. The headmaster tried to compromise with dear Draco, trying to twist his mind around to the "good side". However, the blonde still had his wand pointed at him like a dagger—and just as threatening as a dagger. He obviously didn't want to _kill _him, so he was improvising. That was fine by Dumbledore. He knew Draco wasn't going to be the one to murder him.

After some small talk, Death Eaters barged into the room as if they were a stampede of bulls. They all looked the same to Albus: crazed faces and dark clothing. However, he recognized a few of the wizards by their facial expression—the Carrows, Yaxley, and the infamous Fenrir Greyback. All of them and more kept egging on Draco to kill the old man. The boy seemed to resist, but didn't do so very obviously. He was scared. Everyone kept on shouting at Draco to just say the Unforgivable, but still managed to procrastinate as Albus stood their patiently awaiting his death.

Finally, Severus Snape came. This is it. It is the end. Snape was here to complete Malfoy's task—murder. Dumbledore's heart bang to hammer against his chest uncontrollably. All he could think about was how he was about to die. Usually when people are about to die, they regret all the things they _didn't_ do, but in this occasion Albus was regretting all the things he _did_ do. Dumbledore closed his eyes for a second. And he saw something. He imagined his family all together again: his mother, father, Ariana, and Aberforth. They were reunited and content—as if nothing happened. It seemed so fake, yet so possible. In his last few seconds of life, all Dumbledore thought of was how he wished that his parents and sister knew how sorry he was and how much he loved him. He wished Aberforth knew that too.

Dumbledore looked straight into Severus's black charcoal eyes. His face was serious and cold, but his eyes were regretful.

"Please, Severus." Dumbledore begged calmly as the wand in Severus's hand was aimed at him. Even though he ordered Snape to kill him, he had to make this betrayal seem real.

Severus moved his mouth to reply, but his voice was so distant and muffled. The last thing Dumbledore was a bright green light come at him. He felt himself get thrown off the tower…and then nothing at all.

...

Dead. That was Albus's first thought when he half-opened his eyes. The bright light wherever he was burned his pupils and forced him to squint. He sat up. Then he noticed that he was wearing clean white robes. He was in a room. It was an empty white room with nothing in it besides him. Al felt as if he were in a box—no, not just in a box, _trapped_ in one. Was this death? Was this the place he was supposed to be in for eternity? Is this what the Muggles call Heaven?

Another thing he noticed was that his right hand was not black and withered up. Better yet, it was pale and smooth like a clean sheet of paper. Not only was his right hand smooth, but also his entire body! It was no longer leathery and greasy. How could this be was he young again? How old was he? Sixteen? Seventeen? And his beard was gone! His young hands went to his hair. It was full and luscious and rich and smooth and it was just there. No longer was his hair a stringy gray. For curiosity's sake, he picked out a piece of hair, and there it was: the dark auburn that he remembered.

Dumbledore didn't mind being seventeen again. He didn't like it nor hate it. However, it did remind him of his depressing childhood… He buried his face in his hands, and he cried. Well, at least tried to, but no tears came. He was dead. He made more mistakes than achievements in his life. His parents and sister died thinking that he was ashamed and embarrassed of them. They died thinking he had abandoned them. Maybe he did, but he was so regretful of it. Now all he wants is for his family to forgive him and for them to know. To know that he never stopped loving them. Never.

Then he heard footsteps approach. Slowly, the wise man looked up, and for a second his vision was blurred. Once it cleared up, he saw a beautiful young woman. Her pasty dress made her fair skin look even paler. The young lady had golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes with a smile so warm it made his heart melt.

"Ariana?" Albus mused.

She smiled wider and her eyes got bigger. In a flash, Albus's young long legs carried him over to Ariana. He hugged his little sister and swung her around in a semi-circle. Both of them gave cheerful laughs.

"Ariana," Dumbledore started to sob for the first time in ages," I'm so sorry. You don't have to forgive me, but I just want you to know that I'm very regretful for what I did in the past. I love you. I wish I could take all that back. I was naïve and young and stupid. I was too power-hungry, and I gave up what mattered most: family."

He kissed his sister's forehead.

She nodded her head, and she took her older brother's hand. They walked on and on. Albus then realized that they walked in to another room. It looked strangely familiar. He felt as if he were in a flashback. It was his house! He was back at Godric's Hollow, and in the front parlor were his parents. They looked at him. "Albus."

"Mother. Father."

The two parents and child reunited in embrace. Albus repeated what he said to Ariana to them.

"Everyone makes mistakes, dear," Kendra said.

"We certainly forgive you, son." His father added on.

"You need not to forgive me. I don't deserve it."

"We love you, son, and we will always forgive you."

All four Dumbledores came together with a hug.

"Ab," Albus said.

Ariana guided him over to the window, and there he saw not his neighbors' houses but his old brother washing dishes away mindlessly at his pub.

"He'll always love you, even if he doesn't show it." Ariana acknowledged.

He put his arm around her. Albus didn't feel so sure, but for the first time in his life he felt relieved. He felt as free as the wind. There was no more pain or regret holding him down like an anchor. He was with his family—almost together and at ease, watching over the last Dumbledore. It's all he could've ever wanted.

**Thanks for reading this. Review! I hope you liked it.**

** ;D**


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